State, Silicon Valley post job gains

California scored its biggest one-month job gain in more than two decades in February, and Silicon Valley continued its strong recovery from the ravages of the Great Recession.

The state Employment Development Department said Friday that California added 96,500 jobs in February, accounting for slightly more than half the nation's job growth. The valley added 4,500 jobs, more than the average for this time of year.

"We're in growth mode. There's no question," said economist Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

The state's unemployment rate dropped from 12.4 to 12.2 percent, while Santa Clara County's rate of 10.3 percent was its lowest in nearly two years, down from 10.5 percent in January. San Mateo County's rate was 8.3 percent, down slightly from January, and the third-lowest in the state. U.S. unemployment was 8.9 percent.

Tech hiring in the valley was up 1,200 jobs over the month. It was a strong performance, though the area has averaged a gain of 1,400 jobs between January and February over the past two decades.

Other sectors also did well. "Private industry is turning a corner," said Janice Shriver, EDD labor market specialist for the San Jose region. Even construction jobs showed a slight gain, with the first yearly job increase in 39 months.

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The state's job numbers are adjusted for seasonal variations, while the metro region's are not.

The hiring boom is rippling through the valley.

At NOVA, an employment and training center in Sunnyvale, a gloomy post-recession job picture has been brightening for several months, said Kathy Puryear, employment and training coordinator. "We've definitely been seeing an uptick in hiring, particularly in the tech sector," she said.

Susie Weitzman of Los Gatos agreed. "Recruiters are finding me now," she said, rather than her seeking them out.

Formerly a project manager for a Los Gatos nonprofit, Weitzman lost her job when the recession hit and used the time off to upgrade her skills in marketing communications and project management.

She said she has an interview Monday and feels upbeat about high-tech hiring in the valley.

"They're out there looking, scouting for the top performers," she said.

Across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, tech companies are starting to hire. Google has announced plans to add thousands of workers this year, many of them in the valley; Groupon is hiring 100 people for its Palo Alto office; social-networking companies like Facebook are snapping people up, and with venture capital starting to flow again, dozens of new startups are competing with the valley's giants for talent.

The San Francisco metro area, which includes San Mateo County, and the San Jose region saw its eighth straight month of job gains from the previous year, according to the EDD. And the San Jose area had monthly gains in most sectors. State government and retail were the main exceptions.

The three-county metro area of San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties saw a gain of 6,200 jobs.

But with 2.2 million unemployed, California faces a long recovery. Job gains were concentrated on the coast, while the Central Valley and Inland Empire continued to struggle. The state's labor force shrank by 32,000, observed economist Jon Haveman. That could be people who have temporarily abandoned their job search.

"It's still a tale of two economies," Levy said. "The needle is moving for people with jobs in companies in the valley, with increases in wages and some hiring. The needle is not moving for the long-term unemployed."

Jed Kolko, economist with the Public Policy Institute of California, called the February report "the most favorable job report we've seen in the recovery." But as the recovery gains momentum, government hiring is lagging, he noted. "Right now, the California economy is recovering better than the state budget is," he said.

Private education, leisure and health services were major gainers in the San Francisco metro area, said Ruth Kavanagh, EDD labor market specialist. Professional and business services, which includes many tech jobs, also did slightly better than the average for the month, she said.